


Caution Signs

by SaraiVe



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Non-Canon Relationship, Season 5 killed my Brick mojo, Sorry guys, Spontaneous Bethyl
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-16
Updated: 2015-08-31
Packaged: 2018-02-25 15:25:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2626691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaraiVe/pseuds/SaraiVe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on the Brick Week prompt of "Orange."  Rick notices Beth's new nail color and starts to wonder about the young woman who has become such an integral part of his family.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I own nothing about The Walking Dead or any songs, products, poems or books that may be mentioned in this story.

Rick can hear his daughter's giggles as he approaches Beth's cell and gives a rare smile knowing the three-month-old is happy with the young woman who has taken to caring for the child as her own. He's still smiling when he reaches the cell's door and looks in to find Beth tickling Judith lightly and singing something about an angel from Montgomery that he doesn't recognize, but that his daughter seems to like. The teen's nails catch his eye; they are painted neon orange, the color of traffic cones and hunting vests...of caution and warning.

 

He almost laughs at the thought _Beware Beth Greene_. The idea of the small blonde, the shortest adult at the prison and best known for her sweet personality, being dangerous to anyone or anything is ludicrous to him.

 

A few days later Beth comes out early in the morning to visit Rick, Carl and her father, Hershel, as they work in the fields, bringing Judith with her for fresh air and sunshine.  After a few minutes of talking and letting Judith's dad and brother fuss over her, the young blonde continues her slow walk inside the fences with the baby and the guys can hear her singing to the child as she walks away.

 

Hershel looks after his younger daughter and with a soft, indulgent smile. "They're good for each other, " he says quietly, glancing at Rick and Carl.  "We all have jobs to do and Beth's a great babysitter."

 

Carl gives a quiet snort of derision, one he thinks is too low for Hershel to catch at their distance, but that Rick notices.  Before he can confront his son, they're all shocked to see a walker come around the overturned bus that's still in the prison yard and head rapidly toward the girls, already close to where Beth's walking.  For the most part the fences are secure, but an occasional walker makes its way through a hole that develops or escapes the tombs somehow.  This one has to have come in from outside...it's fresh enough that it's movements are rapid and fairly coordinated and it's determined to get to the fresh, tender flesh of the young woman and baby.

 

Rick starts running, yelling at Carl to stay with Hershel in case there are more, knowing he won't get to the girls in time because the walker's right there, but determined to try to save them.  It's with a mixture of relief and wonder that he sees the teen draw her ever-present knife and plunge it into the temple of the walker while still angling her body so that the baby is held as far away from the creature as possible.  The walker's dead when he reaches them, but he doesn't feel relief until he's run his hands over Beth and Judy, checking for scratches or bites and has assured himself that they are okay.  He shouts back to Hershel and Carl to let them know, then pulls the little blonde into himself with one arm while running his other hand over his daughter's head in sheer relief.

 

He can't believe they're safe and he's still processing the sight of tiny Beth Green killing the larger male walker without any hesitation to protect herself and her young charge.  Suddenly he catches a glimpse of the nails on her hand that is wrapped around his daughter and he sees the orange polish again.  It's chipped now from all the work she does, but he suddenly thinks the walker should have taken the warning color seriously and stayed away from the young woman.

 

After supper Rick takes Judith for the night and Carl helps Beth by bringing the Pack N' Play back to Rick's cell, then heads to his own cell to read comics until he falls asleep.  Rick doesn't track where Beth goes after she drops off the diaper bag loaded with everything he'll need for the night; he's too busy talking with everyone who needs his attention.  In spite of the Council they've set up, it seems most people, especially from their original group, still want to discuss things with him and everyone's worried about the Governor returning and the strain the people from Woodbury are putting on their resources.

 

In spite of everything going on, Rick hasn't been able to get the sound of Carl's snort completely out of his mind and keeps wondering about it.  Sure, he's noticed how Beth cares for Judith in the sweetest ways possible and how she's always willing to talk with Carl, but when he catches sight of her as he's talking he starts watching as Beth moves around the common area talking with everyone and dealing with one task after another once the supper dishes are done, helping settle disputes, gently assigning duties and adding to the seemingly endless lists that are always ready for the next run.  He notices people seem to talk more to the young blonde about things than come and talk to him.  After a while Beth takes a sleeping Judith from Rick and gently puts her to bed in his cell before heading up toward her cell while he continues to talk with Daryl, who has come in from guard duty and is trying to plan new fortifications.  Once they've worked out a new idea they both like, they simply sit and catch up.

 

After a while, the redneck rises to go to his perch and Rick stands to go to bed.  As he turns to go to his cell he notices that the only other light on is in Beth's cell and heads quietly up the stairs to check on her.  At his soft knock, Beth faintly calls out "Come in" and he pushes back her cell door and privacy curtain to see her with a small pile of mending next to her on the bed and a large pile already folded and in the laundry basket on the floor.  Beth smiles at him, continuing to work the needle in her hand carefully through the final edge of the patch she's putting on one of Rick's shirts.

 

"Hey," she says so softly he can barely catch it, "is everything okay?"  She looks suddenly worried, as though she may have missed something Judy needs and starts to set down his shirt, ready to get up.  The blonde looks so worried that he realizes he has never come just to talk to her; she's the person who takes care of his daughter all day and some nights and he cannot remember taking her aside even once just to talk.

 

He holds out a hand to keep her where she is and moves closer to her, smiling reassuringly.  "Nothing's wrong, Beth, just wanted to check on you and see why you're up so late."

 

The little, subconscious frown on her forehead shows him she's not sure about what he's said and wonders how many times he's missed her light on after everyone else has gone to bed, because apparently this is normal.  Still, she smiles and picks up his shirt again, "I'm fine, thank you.  How are you?"  She finishes up the last couple stitches deftly and ties off the thread before snipping it with the sharp scissors that sit in the small basket next to her, then neatly folds the shirt and holds it out to him instead of placing it in the basket of finished mending.

 

"I'm just fine," he replies, shifting uncomfortably after taking the shirt.  _Seriously?  I used to talk to people for a living and now I can't have a conversation for a whole minute with the girl who spends more time with my daughter than I do?_   He tries again, "You getting enough rest?  You need anything?"

 

She cocks her head to the side and looks at him curiously, "Do you get enough rest, Rick?"  Her voice is quiet, but he can detect the undertone of sass.  "I don't recall you laying abed recently either" she adds before her voice turns gentle.  "Is there something wrong?" she asks again, because this is not normal behavior for Rick Grimes.  He's never paid her much attention and has been abrupt and almost angry with her since she handed Judith to him when he came back from Woodbury with her sister and Glenn and she's wondering at this change.

 

"Just realized I can't remember really talking to you...got curious about the person who spends so much time with my daughter."

 

While they've been talking, she's picked up the next item to work on, a child's pair of pants that Rick doesn't recognize, trimmed the threads around the edges of the tear in the backside and picked up a piece of dark blue material that contrasts nicely with the khaki of the trousers, hands moving quickly and efficiently, then tying a knot in the thread still on the needle, just using two fingers and the thumb on her right hand.  After a moment she decides to take the bull by the horns and says "I'd like to get to know you better too.  I want to be able to talk with you about Judy, about the new things she does every day.  I want to help Carl and I want you to know you don't have to try to do all this by yourself."  She glances up from her mending to look at him sincerely.

 

"Okay" he says slowly "what are we doing to do about this?  What do you think?"

 

"Well, Carl has been  hanging out with some of the other kids at lunch and in the afternoons.  Why don't I get us some stuff before lunch tomorrow and we can have a picnic around the side of the administration building?  If we stay and eat around everyone else, we'll never have a chance to talk."

 

Rick agrees and they set up a signal for when they are ready to meet because it's true that if people know where they are, some will come find them, so they have to slip away.

 

The next day the former deputy wakes up and suddenly realizes why he's been a jerk to Beth since the first time he saw her with Judith.  He hasn't wanted anyone in Lori's place, doesn't want anyone else to get close enough to hurt him in that way, but Beth's not his type.  He's always liked tall, striking brunettes with brown eyes and outgoing personalities, not shy, petite, blue-eyed blondes who look like the girl next door.  He doesn't pay attention to the feeling of anticipation that grips him, telling himself it's the idea of doing something different and not that he's meeting Beth later.  Really, she's not his type, even taking the age difference into consideration, so he knows he's safe...he's not going to fall in love with her.

 

When she approaches him with a smile that morning to take Judith, he sees the bright orange nails and just thinks they've grown on him...he's come to really like the color.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Apparently I'm not as capable as writing a true "one shot" as I'd previously thought and I had to write this out.
> 
> Again, I own nothing related to TWD, or any other brands, etc. that may be mentioned in this work.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Over pre-dawn cups of hot tea Daryl assures Rick that the holes that had allowed the fresh walker inside the fences had been found and closed and weak spots shored up. Two of the people who’d been brought into the prison when found on runs had been allowed to take a shift on watch together and Daryl suspects it was during that time that the walker got in. The man and woman had just finished their shift when Beth was attacked and for now they have been moved off of guard duty and onto fence duty and won’t be paired together again.

Rick’s second-in-command runs a tired hand over his jaw and leans forward with his elbows on the table with a sigh, “Having two more people to take watch would have been great and given the rest of us a break, but they have to earn it.”

“You could just have paired them with someone else for guard duty,” Rick says calmly, not challenging his friend.

“Nah, they were careless and we could have lost Beth and Asskicker because of it; folks got to know they have to earn that position.” Daryl eyes his friend warily when he continues, “I’m going to talk to Beth about using her in the rotation....” He hesitates at the instant tensing of his friend’s shoulders and headshake of denial, but then he keeps going, “She may need to work on her shooting, but she took watches when we were all on the road and we know we can trust her already.”

“Her job’s taking care of Judy,” Rick says stubbornly and is rewarded by a snort from the redneck that sounds remarkably like the one from Carl the morning before. He’s about to ask about it when they hear quick, light steps coming down the metal stairs and look over to see Beth hurrying down the steps and to Rick’s cell and notice Judith’s soft whimpers for the first time. “How’d she hear that?” Rick wonders aloud.

Daryl just shakes his head in response and stands, picking up his cup as Beth reappears from Rick’s cell with his daughter her arms and hurries over to the kitchen area to find a bottle, formula and one of the jugs of boiled water they keep for the baby’s meals. As Daryl sets his cup down in the bin for dirty dishes, the blonde hands him the now fussing baby and smoothly moves to mix up the bottle. Rick’s watching silently, noticing how they move with easy familiarity and Daryl hands Judy back to Beth as soon as the bottle’s ready before running a hand over the baby’s head and moving off to go outside and prepare one of the vehicles for a run.

Judith’s contentedly sucking on the bottle now, so Beth heads back over to Rick to ask if he wants to feed her and he nods, “Sure, I’ll take her” holding his arms up for his daughter.

“Thanks, Rick” she says and heads back to the kitchen area to grab a large pot and take it outside to get water to boil the oatmeal. She’s back in a few minutes, lugging the pot before swinging her whole body to get it up on the camp stove that’s set up for that purpose before Rick thinks to move to help her. “Is she okay?” Beth calls softly to him when she sees him looking her way and Rick nods, so she continues what she’s doing, turning on the propane tank and lighting the burner under the pot so it will start to heat. She adds some salt to the water, then digs out a couple containers of oatmeal, opens them and sets them nearby so they’ll be ready when the water boils before pulling out one of the large bags of dried apples Glenn had brought back from a recent run, chopping them and putting them in a bowl with some raisins and a serving spoon. She also pulls out a jug with some maple syrup in it and places that on the counter next to the fruit before heading back Rick’s way to get Judith when she sees him pull the empty bottle away.

Rick lets the young woman take his daughter and continues to study her as she heads up to her cell to burp Judith, change the baby’s diaper and get her in to a daytime outfit. She’s back down within minutes with the clean baby held securely on one arm and heads back for the kitchen, stopping to deposit Judith into a car seat that's on a table there, before turning to dump the oatmeal into the now boiling water, stirring the mixture and watching it for a minute before turning the flame down and stirring it again before setting the egg timer that’s shaped like a pig Maggie had found on a run. Carol comes out and greets Rick before heading toward Beth, telling her good morning and asking if the blonde has the list ready for the run that day. Beth nods, pulls out the list and hands it to the older woman. The two continue working and when breakfast’s ready, Carol helps Beth move the pot off the camp stove and over to a large trivet near the bowls, fruit and syrup, then brings a prepared bowl to Rick and sits across from him to eat her own breakfast while they talk about things that need to be done that day.

Beth’s gone with Judy when Rick looks back up, but there are more people around, getting their own breakfasts and chatting, so Carol gets up to help dish out breakfast and make sure nobody’s taking too much. Once Carl’s finished eating, Rick grabs his son and they head outside; it’ll just be them working in the gardens until Hershel’s finished checking on a sick woman, so they work quickly to get as much done as possible before the sun rises high.

Rick sees the majority of people in the yard start heading in eventually for lunch and checks his watch to see it’s just before noon. He and Carl have done a lot of work and he normally gives his son the afternoons off if he does a good job in the gardens during the morning, so he thanks Carl and says he’s going to stay outside for a while longer. Carl nods and goes to put up his tools and gloves before heading inside to eat. Rick keeps working while subtly watching the doors of cell block C for signs of Beth and finds his heart skips a beat when he sees her coming out of the doors with a small bag over her shoulder and saying something to Carl as he passes her in the doorway that makes his son laugh. She raises her hand as though shading her eyes while looking out over the gardens, their signal that she's got their picnic ready, before heading off around the administration building.

He finishes the last couple plants on the current row before moving to put up his tools and tucking his gloves into his back pocket before heading up toward the main cell block. When he’s close and can see that the other people there are inside, he heads away toward the administration himself. Once around the building, he spots Beth on a blanket she’s spread out. What surprises him is that she has on only a bikini top and a pair of cutoffs and seems to be sunbathing. He’s seen her do it before when she has a break, which isn’t often, although he has yet to figure out why she bothers since she never seems to tan and her skin stays smooth and creamy. Not that he notices her skin.

She has her head tilted back as though she’s trying to expose as much of her skin as possible to the warm sunshine and Rick takes a second while she can’t see him to run his eyes over her body, appreciating her long legs and flat stomach. He accidentally kicks a rock and her head snaps up and her eyes find him at once and as soon as she sees it’s him, she gives him a warm smile.

“Hey” she says, patting the other side of the blanket and moving so that she’s sitting up on her knees as she pulls the bag toward her, opening the neck as he settles on the blanket next to her.

“Hey,” he responds, noticing her ridiculous orange nails as she hands him a bottle of water before pulling out a thermos.

“Lunch today is really good,” she says with a big smile. “That canned chicken they found on the last run was still good and I got into those dried beans we had and made some white chicken chili and it’s not half bad. We have something to go with it, too…want to guess?”

He smiles back at her, enjoying her silly game, “Squirrel?”

Beth giggles, “Not today…guess again!”

“Tomatoes?”

“Well, yes, I sliced a tomato for us, but I don’t know if that’s much of a guess since you brought in a bunch yesterday,” she laughs again. Pulling out a small square wrapped in waxed paper, she holds it out to him and announces, “Cornbread!”

“You’re kidding!” Rick exclaims, grabbing the packet from her and unwrapping it quickly. “This is great, Beth!”

She giggles once more at his reaction as she pours some chili into a cup and hands him the cup and a spoon before bringing out the small container of sliced tomato and putting it between them, then serving herself some chili.

“This is nice” she says softly, looking around at the beautiful sky and how green everything seems to be. Rick hums in agreement, looking at Beth and watching her eyes as she takes in the beauty around her. She doesn’t realize he’s watching her half the time but this time she catches his eye and looks at him quizzically with a small half-smile, “Ummm…was there anything in particular you wanted to talk about, Rick?”

“Not really,” he replies with a little shake of his head. “You’re doing a great job with Judy,” he adds, trying a little harder.

“Thanks, Rick, that’s nice to hear! I did a lot of babysitting growing up and when Mama taught Sunday School I helped her with the really little kids sometimes.” She hesitates for a second before adding a little shyly, “I really love Judy, you know.  She’s such a little sweetheart and she just changes every day!"

“I remember when Carl was that little and enjoying every new thing he did so much, but I missed a lot of it, too because I was just a young rookie and new on the force.”

“You were a sheriff’s deputy, right?” Beth asks to try to keep the conversation going. She knew a lot about the Grimes family from talks she’d had with Lori, but she wanted to keep him talking.

He nods, “In King County. I started right before Lori and I got married and we found out not long after that she was pregnant.” He’s finished his cup of chili and the square of cornbread and eaten several slices of tomato before Beth holds out the thermos again with a raised eyebrow and Rick nods eagerly, not having realized before that there was more chili. It’s easily the best meal he’s had since the Greene farm was lost.

They chat for a while longer before Beth sits up suddenly and reaches for her shirt to pull it on over her bikini top and Rick mourns the loss of her skin as she starts to put the empty food containers in her bag.

“What is it?” Rick asks right before he suddenly hears a child’s voice calling Beth and clambers to his feet. Beth snatches up the blanket and folds it haphazardly before shoving it in her tote bag.

“I’ve got to go,” she gasps. “If they come around the building and see me here, they’ll know to look here when they need me.” Instead of going back the way she’d originally come, as soon as she has everything she takes off running around the back of the building so that she can slip up between the cell blocks and make it seem she was closer to C-block. After a minute Rick hears her voice calling, “Luke?” and hears the child’s piping voice calling back to her.

Rick dawdles for a minute and picks up a length of rebar that’s sitting in the grass before he heads back around the corner of the building acting as though he was hunting for other potential weapons to help with clearing the fence and heads for the shed where they keep the bin with those weapons and drops it in. He’s feeling full from lunch and content in a way, but he definitely wishes he’d had more time with Beth before she was called away.

It’s starting to dawn on him that, while people have been trying to back off and leave him alone, Beth’s in high demand around the prison for multiple reasons and he’s not sure what to think of that because he’s still fighting a tendency to think of her as though she’s younger than Carl because she’s so tiny and looks so young. It suddenly occurs to him that she’d turned seventeen not long after the farm had fallen and that was early in Lori’s pregnancy, so now that Judith’s three months old Beth’s eighteenth birthday has to be around the corner. In the old world, Beth would be getting ready for college or going out and seeking a full-time job, but either way she would definitely be considered a grown-up and he’s got to start thinking of her differently. Remembering her body in the tiny top and shorts he realizes he finds it almost disturbing to think of her as another adult because then that means…his brain shies away from all the possibilities.

The former deputy sees the little blonde from a distance as she does something with the kids that must have been the reason Luke was looking for her. He figures out she must have used some of the chalk the kids found to draw a game of hopscotch for them because he sees the young woman hopping a few steps, then putting both feet down and repeating until she stops at the end with a huge smile and encourages the kids to try. She isn’t much taller than some of them, but he can tell they’re listening to her and seem to be enjoying themselves. Carl comes out with Judy in his arms and promptly hands his sister to Beth, who pulls back a little.  Rick can see her laugh and wave a hand in front of her face,so he knows Carl didn’t change his sister’s dirty diaper, but she makes Carl laugh, which Rick loves. Beth snuggles Judy close, kisses her face and then heads back toward the buildig.  He’s again impressed by how good she is with both his kids and watches as she heads for the doors. He’s about to turn away when one of the young men they’d taken in stops Beth and stands in front of her blocking her path. Beth says something in response to whatever he says and tries to go around him, but the guy reaches out and takes her arm and holds on to it, even when Beth seems to pull back slightly. Rick finds himself moving back toward the building, but stops when he sees Carl walk up and say something to Beth and the guy and the guy lets go of her so that she can continue walking, Carl accompanying her back into the building.

Rick turns back to the fences in time to see the SUV Daryl’s driving returning to the prison, so he runs down to let them in the gates before Daryl has to honk, but he can’t stop thinking about Beth or the guy who tried to stop her while she was carrying his daughter. Who needed her diaper changed…what kind of jerk stops a young woman who needs to go change a baby’s diaper? Part of him wants to find the young man and punch him in the face, but instead he follows the vehicle up to the unloading area and starts helping.

He’s walking next to Daryl, both carrying heavy boxes weighed down with canned goods when he spots the young man who’d accosted Beth walking toward the fences and something in his face must change because Daryl looks at him sharply before turning to see who Rick’s glaring at in that way. He looks back at Rick questioningly, “Scott do something?”

Rick shifts his gaze, “Was just bugging Beth….”

“What do you mean, bugging her?” Daryl asks sharply.

“She was trying to walk inside with Judith to change her diaper and he stopped her and wouldn’t let her go.”

“Okay, what do you mean by ‘wouldn’t let her go?’” Daryl seems calm, but Rick knows his friend well enough to know that Scott’s about to find himself on the wrong end of the redneck’s crossbow if he says the wrong thing.

“Just stood in front of her, held her arm when she tried to walk past him. Carl went over and said something and he let her go.”

Daryl nods sharply and they go inside to put down the boxes and Beth comes over, holding Judith in one arm to help unload with her free hand. She’s still wearing her sleeveless button-down shirt and cut-offs and has pulled her cowboy boots back on, not that Rick’s really noticing. Daryl calls her over to point out something in one of the boxes and talks to her low-voiced for a couple seconds before Beth pulls out what are obviously some baby items and heads over to Rick’s cell to drop off some things before coming back out and heading to her cell with some others. She’s quick and is back over in only a few seconds to grab a couple cans of formula and say something else to Daryl that earns her a big grin from the redneck as he flushes and stands straighter than usual and Rick feels a little stab at whatever she’s said to make him look that way.

When Daryl heads back outside, Rick follows after putting up the last couple cans that were in his hands and his friend nods when he joins him at one of the picnic tables outside. “She said he’s fine, just been trying a little too hard to get her attention, but nothing she can’t handle.”

Rick shakes his head, “Just new seeing her have to ‘handle’ guys around here.”

Daryl snorts again. Rick’s getting really tired of that noise.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I own nothing about The Walking Dead.

About a week later Rick awakens a few minutes before his normal time to the sound of the outer doors of the cell block closing and knows that the two-man run team has left and will be away for one night if everything goes as planned. The sound of the SUV taking off is faint and Rick stretches and stays in his cot a few minutes longer enjoying the peace and quiet of the day. He hasn’t been able to spend time with Beth since their lunch the other day, but he’d found out from Glenn that today is her birthday and he reminds himself to wish her a happy day.

 

Judith starts cooing in the Pack ‘N Play, sounding content for a moment as she awakens, but the former deputy knows it will be only a few moments before his daughter starts whimpering in discomfort from her dirty diaper. He briefly debates changing her himself or waiting for Beth to come in and get her just so he can see the blonde while he remembers it’s her birthday, but he can’t see letting his daughter be uncomfortable if he can do anything about it. The baby fusses as he’s changing her and he realizes that Beth usually keeps her happy by singing during the act, so he tentatively tries out the only thing he can think of at the time, which is an old AC/DC song that Shane used to like and that he’d heard far too many times. Judy stops fussing as he sings, but scrunches up her tiny nose, which makes him laugh…his daughter the music critic.

 

The sound of the large pot going onto the camp stove in the kitchen makes him smile and hurry to get his baby girl dressed in a fresh onesie so he can go catch Beth before a lot of other people are up. He can hear Hershel’s soft voice talking to someone, so he scoops up Judy and heads out to the kitchen area only to find the older man’s talking with Carol and not his younger daughter.

 

“Good morning!” He greets them and hands over his daughter when Hershel holds out his hands from his seated position at one of the tables.

 

“Morning, Rick! Hey, Nugget,” he greets the baby, using one of his favorite nicknames as he cuddles her.

 

“You letting Beth sleep in this morning for her birthday?” the younger man asks as he grabs cups of hot tea for himself and Hershel after Carol greets him as well.

 

Carol breaks in, “You don’t know?”

 

“Know what?” Rick asks, looking between the two.

 

“Beth went on the run with Daryl this morning…Maggie and Glenn are going to be helping Carol and I with this one until she gets back,” Hershel answers.

 

Rick finds himself on his feet, saying vehemently, “She can’t leave the prison! Nobody said anything to me! She’s my - babysitter!” Dear God, he almost said ‘wife;’ what’s wrong with him?

 

“She’s my daughter,” Hershel’s voice has turned calm and even. “My eighteen-year-old, grown-up daughter who stood by us and helped protect all our group when we were on the road and who does every bit as much or more than anyone else to care for everyone here at the prison. She wanted to go on this run for her birthday to get away and stretch her wings further and we stepped up to make sure it happened for her. You have no say in what she does or does not do unless it endangers someone in the group and we’re all here for Judy.”

 

The former deputy can’t do anything other than glare before grating out “Tell Carl I went to the gardens and to join me as soon as he’s had breakfast.” He turns and strides out, completely missing the glances exchanged by Hershel and Carol behind his stiff back.

 

He drives himself hard all day and is so touchy that Carl simply works hard in silence after trying to start a couple conversations and everyone else avoids him as much as possible. It’s not until Judith screams and cries when he holds her that he hands her over to Carl and goes outside to walk the perimeter twice, using the time and movement to help him release the anger that’s making his daughter uncomfortable, although his mind’s still shying away from examining the reasons behind his feelings too closely.

 

The next day finds him in a better mood as he’s looking forward to Beth and Daryl’s return. He’s always concerned for any team that goes out, of course, since hardly any of the folks from Woodbury are on the run teams and he’s close to all the ones who go, but Daryl’s his best friend and he wants his friend to turn around and come back _now_. After a while he leaves Carl with instructions to finish weeding the row of beans they just started before having the rest of the day free to do as he pleases and Rick excuses himself to go check the traps because he’s too restless for weeding that morning. He’s surprised and pleased when his son simply accepts what he says without his usual request to leave the fences with his father.

 

There’s small game in most of the traps and Rick’s gratified to see none of it’s been touched by walkers, especially when one of the catches is a wild turkey bigger than most Daryl’s managed to shoot and which will make a great late birthday dinner for Beth. He resets and baits each trap carefully after removing the game and heads back inside the walls as soon as he’s done. The entire time there’s part of his brain straining to catch the sound of the SUV pulling up, but he just doesn’t hear it and shoves down his disappointment and fear firmly. The rest of the day, he helps with anything he can around the prison yard; anything at all that allows him to be outside and keep his eye on the road and gate and he stays busy, but the day still seems to drag by without any sign of the vehicle or its occupants. By late afternoon, Hershel, Maggie and Glenn have also found excuses to be outside, but it grows dark without any sign of the small run team and they all know Daryl and Beth will have tried to find a place to hole up for the night if they are still okay instead of trying to travel in the dark.

 

It’s the thought that they aren’t okay that keeps Rick pacing his cell long after Judith and Carl are asleep and prevents him from hearing Hershel’s snores until well after the usual time. Glenn and Maggie volunteered to take first shift on watch and he has a feeling that it’s one time they’re actually using the guard tower to watch the fences and road intently because he knows they’re all worried about the tiny blonde and the hunter.

 

Part of him wants to snark at Hershel and ask if he still believes it was the right decision to allow his youngest to go outside of the walls and fences that kept her safe, but he just can’t bring himself to do it, in spite of his anger. Hershel’s faith may be keeping him going, but Rick knows how he’d feel if it were Carl outside and it’s not a good feeling at all.

 

**

 

The SUV reappears near sundown two days later, stuffed to the brim, with Daryl and Beth healthy and whole, if tired and dirty, inside. Maggie’s the first one at the chains that control the gates and hauls the outer gate open, allowing the vehicle into the containment area before closing them while Rick opens the second set of gates to let the SUV all the way in to the yard. Beth’s driving and barely has time to slam the gear shift into park before her sister’s got the door open and is hugging her fiercely, dragging her from the vehicle, laughing and crying the whole time. Daryl keeps his door locked and rolls down the window partway to look at his friend cautiously as he recognizes the look on Rick’s face.

 

“Damn thing broke down twice,” he explains. “Couldn’t find another working vehicle with enough room for all the stuff and gas to make it run, so jerry rigged it the first time, then had to find the parts and fix it right the second time.” Rick’s not looking quite as crazy and his hands are uncurling a bit, but the hunter still figures a walk across the yard may help him cool down even further, so calls for Beth to get back in the vehicle and drive them up to the building where he sees Hershel waiting and she good-naturedly complies after disengaging herself from her sister.

 

The run across the yard does help Rick, at least until Beth finishes hugging Hershel and Glenn, who’s joined them before she meets Daryl at the back of the SUV and he sees the hunter lay a familiar hand on the young woman’s lower back as he says something and she beams up at him before turning and heading inside after Glenn with her arms full of bags and boxes.

 

Hershel watches Rick coming for a few more seconds as he calmly makes his way around to the back of the vehicle and the former deputy arrives in time to hear the older man asking about what had happened. Daryl repeats what he’d told Rick before adding, “Stayed in an old hunting stand we found in the woods the first night and a farmhouse at the orchard we found until we could get this hunk o’ junk restarted. Girl did great, Hersh…found all kinds of stuff we can use that hasn’t ever been on a list, didn’t panic when we ran into walkers or when this beast stopped and stayed real sweet through the whole thing. I’d go out with her again anytime.”

 

The older man clapped him on the shoulder, “I knew you’d do anything you could to keep her safe, son.”

 

Rick couldn’t help himself, “That’s why you’ve been sitting up half the night every night she’s been gone? You were comfortable with Beth being out there?”

 

Hershel met his gaze evenly as Daryl’s shoulders hunched slightly, “I didn’t say I was comfortable, Rick, or that I don’t care about both Beth and Daryl, but I know Daryl would die to save anyone in this prison and if my Bethie had to be out there with anyone I’m glad it was him.”

 

Before either of the other men can say anything, Beth’s voice sounds behind them, “Everything okay?” The men turn to find the young woman standing there with Judith snuggled contentedly on her shoulder.

 

“Everything’s fine, sweetie,” Hershel says in his normal calm voice. “You want me to take Judy while you go get cleaned up?”

 

“I think I’ll wait until later, Daddy. I changed my shirt and should be okay until tonight. Judy seems really comfortable right now and it’s nice to be with her after not seeing her for so long.” The young woman nuzzles the baby’s head then kisses her soft cheek before smiling back at the men and holding out her free arm, “Can I take anything else? We’ve hardly gotten anything out! I’ve asked some of the others to come out and help; I don’t know where they are.”

 

Daryl places a couple bags that seem to be loaded with clothes on Beth’s free arm, so she starts back for the doors and Rick takes a couple boxes and follows after her. As they walk, she glances shyly back at him, “I haven’t had a chance to say ‘hi’ to you yet. How are you, Rick? How’s the garden coming along?”

 

“I’m fine…” he starts, just as the doors open and Scott comes out with a couple other young men and holds the door for Beth, turning to watch the little blonde until the older man shoulders past him right behind the young woman, blocking the other man's view. Carol, Carl and Glenn are all heading out to the SUV as well to help unload and he suddenly finds himself alone with just Beth and Judy in the dining area and she looks at him expectantly after easing the bags off her arm. Rick clears his throat, “Been a little worried about you and Daryl,” he admits. “I’m sorry I missed your birthday.”

 

“I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to talk to you before we took off; I wanted to, but there was so much to do after they gave me the okay the evening before and I couldn’t ever seem to catch you. At least I knew everyone would help you look after Judy.” She gives a little sigh and rubs the baby’s back with her free hand as she confesses softly, “I didn’t know I could miss anyone like that, though. They always need more people to go on runs and I want to help, but being away from Judy was really hard.”

 

Rick clears his throat and manages, “She missed you too; didn’t settle down quickly like she usually does for you and cried a lot. She’s happy now, though.” He moves over to look down at his daughter, rubbing a gentle hand over her head and doesn’t think about it when he slips an arm around Beth and she leans into his chest with a little sigh that sounds strangely content to his ears.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This story was always meant to be more lighthearted and silly, so I hope you enjoy the chapter, just more of their time in the prison.
> 
> I really did intend this to be a Brick story when I started it, but the further I got the more I couldn't go that way...season 5 just wrecked my Brick feels, so I apologize sincerely to anyone who is disappointed. I tried to update the tags on this story to reflect the changes.

It’s been weeks since Beth and Daryl got back from their extended run and Rick’s barely seen her, except when she comes by the get Judith in the mornings or drop her off in the evenings and the young woman’s usually in such a hurry they don’t get to talk beyond asking if there’s anything she needs to know or telling him if Judy does something new before disappearing with his daughter.  Besides taking on a regular watch shift, usually with Daryl as her partner, she’s gone on a couple other runs, one with just Daryl again and another the day before with Maggie and Glenn, which was another overnight trip and Rick’s positive Hershel doesn’t sleep at all that night, just stays up reading his Bible.  Rick knows Hershel’s up because he doesn’t sleep either and is bleary-eyed when the sun rises the next day.

 

When he snaps at Carl out of pure exhaustion, his son rolls his eyes and suggests that his dad may need to take a nap with Judith when the baby goes down after her mid-morning feeding.  There isn’t much Rick can say in response that doesn’t make him sound more juvenile than Carl, so he bites back his reply and sends his son to weed the beans that are several rows away from where Rick’s working.  To block his son’s complaints, the former deputy jams the earbuds in for the older iPod Glenn found for him on a run that has a few groups he really likes…everything from Johnny Cash to AC/DC, including some female singers he’s never heard of.  When Sarah McLachlan comes on playing a rendition of “Blackbird” it occurs to him to offer Beth a chance to listen to the music at some point and he can’t imagine why he didn’t think of it before because there isn’t anyone in the prison who’d appreciate the music more than the petite blonde and here’s he’s been the only one using the iPod for months, plugging it into his secret power source at night and retrieving it before anyone else is up in the mornings.

 

He’s still thinking about the young blonde when he spies Daryl working cold crew on the fence alongside Carol, who particularly hated that job and is obviously only out to keep the redneck company.  The former deputy finds himself wondering again about the younger man’s relationship with Beth; they are definitely friendly and Daryl is different with Beth than he is with anyone else at the prison and Rick can’t help but see it.  The hunter’s gruff with everyone, but there’s an undertone of gentleness with Beth that absolutely nobody else is privy to and he genuinely seems to enjoy the young woman’s company.  Just a few days before he’d spied them laughing together over something Judith was doing and a few days before that he’d seen them walking side by side and when Beth had stumbled a little, Daryl had moved like a flash to catch the blonde around the waist to steady her and then held her elbow while she carried Judith back to the prison yard.

 

He’d bristled watching them and seeing Daryl’s hands on the young woman, but had forced himself to shake it off and keep working in the garden.  The few feelers he’s put out with Hershel have shown him only one thing, which was that the older man doesn’t have any objections to the attention the redneck shows his younger daughter.   Rick had discovered Daryl’s current age was thirty-six to Beth’s eighteen, making the hunter twice her age, but Rick’s already got over five years on Daryl and his forty-second birthday is only about another week away at that point.  He also reminds himself he’s a widower with two children, but it doesn’t seem to make any difference to how his heart trips when she smiles his way.

 

Not that she’s been doing that much recently because she always seems to be hurrying somewhere and there have been a few times when nobody seemed to know where she was and then she’d reappeared with Judith and usually an armful of mending or some other project she’d completed.  He suspects Daryl knows where she goes because one time Rick knows for sure the other man was nowhere to be found when Beth and Judy were also missing.  Still, when anyone asked the redneck he would just shrug and at least once had suggested that the woman who’d asked him do some work herself instead of always looking for Beth and Rick wasn’t sure he would fare much better than the former Woodbury resident if he approached his friend.

 

Instead of simply talking to Beth, he’d somehow decided that the best way to get her attention was to ask her to do things and she’d never told him no, so had ended up taking on a lot of extra things.  Once in a while he’d catch Daryl glaring at him, especially the time Beth had fallen asleep at the supper table and Maggie had gently supported her sister’s shoulder until Hershel had pulled the plate aside and Maggie had let her sister’s head fall forward onto one of her arms.  Before Rick could volunteer to do so, Daryl had scooped up the young woman and carried her up the steps to her cell, then had proceeded to sit right inside her door to keep anyone from disturbing her and had turned Rick away when he’d tried to check on her before he’d headed for bed.

 

Carol had come for Judith the next morning and helped look after the baby that day while Beth stayed in bed and certain people took her things to eat, drink or just for sheer entertainment.  The times Rick had started to go upstairs someone had distracted him each time as though he was going to ask Beth to do something for him - which he _wasn’t_ , he just wanted to check on her since she wasn’t feeling well.  At least that’s what he told himself…and Maggie, Hershel, Glenn, Carol and Daryl when they’d each intercepted him.  Maybe it wasn’t as convincing when he was carrying Judith or a shirt that needed mending or the socks with almost more holes than toes anymore, but he’d somehow gotten it in his head that he couldn’t just go see her to see her without an excuse and he really hadn’t thought it through before picking up the clothing.

 

He particularly regrets the shirt when Carol grabs her sewing kit and sits Rick down to make him learn how to mend the tears himself, which ends up being a couple hours of his life he’ll never get back.  A couple hours he’d particularly hoped would be spent with a certain small blonde woman rather than needle, thread and sarcastic taskmaster.

 

“I really just wanted to go see Beth, I wasn’t going to ask her to mend it today.”

 

“Well, now you won’t have to ask her to mend it at all, you can do it yourself.  Maybe it’ll teach you to take better care since you seem to be ripping your clothing a lot more these days.”

 

“Beth always jokes with me about it…it’s kind of our thing now.”

 

“Rick, constantly giving a woman things to do for you is almost as bad a form of flirting as punching a girl you like and running away in kindergarten.”  Her mouth quirks up, “Maybe you should try wearing a little more leather.”

 

“Mending leather’s too hard on Beth’s fingers; they hurt after she fixed the lacings on Daryl’s vest for him…I don’t do anything to make her sore.”

 

Carol gives a startled little laugh, “No, I guess you don’t…that does seem to be Daryl’s job these days and he takes it pretty seriously.”

 

“Do you think he’s being too rough on her in training?  I can talk to him about not riding her so hard.”

 

The gray-haired woman chokes suddenly and has to cough and blink tears from her eyes, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, he wouldn’t appreciate the interference; Hershel’s well aware of what’s going on and will say something if Beth’s unhappy.  Now, you see that rough edge here?  You need to trim that before you mend it to keep it smooth…."

 

By the time the lesson’s over, Rick’s fingers are surprisingly sore from all the needle pricks and especially from the time he’d managed to jam a needle under one of his nails as he plunged it through the fabric too quickly, trying to end the ordeal.  Carol cleans it up and bandages it for him before finally telling him not to be such a baby about it and to go clean some guns or something.

 

**

Two days after Beth fell asleep at the table, she’s finally back at breakfast, Judith once more tucked in her arms sucking on a bottle while Beth sits across the table from Hershel and Carol discussing things that have to get done that day.  Her skin’s back to it’s normal, nearly luminous, creamy hue and Rick thinks she almost looks like she’s glowing.  The former deputy can’t help but glare a little bit as Daryl brings two bowls of oatmeal over to the table and sets one in front of Beth, laden with chopped dried apples and a little maple syrup, mouth tipping up at once side as she beams up at him before he takes his place beside her again.  Beth looks back at Judith and Rick sees the apple of her cheek curve as she smiles lovingly at his daughter, his heart doing a little flip as he stares at her.

 

Glenn’s coffee cup bangs on the table a little harder than necessary and Rick blinks before returning his gaze to the Asian man who is currently sitting across from him having breakfast and providing him with far more information than necessary about the run they are planning that day.  It’s going to be a surprisingly large group with Daryl, Carol, Maggie, Glenn, Tyreese, Sasha, Bob and Michonne and Rick’s already checked to make sure Beth’s not going.  Glenn had just shaken his head and given him a slight grin before changing the subject to fortifications they can make to the prison to make it more difficult if the Governor tries attacking again.

 

When there’s a small flurry of movement at the next table, Rick sees all of them have stood up and Carol’s walking away with four empty bowls to place them in the kitchen area where two of the Woodbury women are helping with the dishes.  Glenn also glances over before standing as Maggie joins the group, bouncing on her toes and drawing both Beth and Hershel into big hugs before grabbing Glenn’s hand and walking toward the doors.  Daryl leans over to kiss Judith’s head as he bends in; he looks into Beth’s eyes as she says something to him, low-voiced and sweet before grunting something in response before turning to Hershel to talk as they walk outside.

 

Beth walks out behind them to wave off the group and Rick follows after the young blonde and his daughter, Carl appearing out of nowhere and falling in at Beth’s side quipping something and making the young woman laugh a little.  The vehicles had been loaded earlier and final checks are done amidst some quiet joking and talking.  Sasha takes a turn holding Judith and talking to her for a minute before Michonne takes a turn and both talk to Rick while they hold his daughter and he doesn’t realize he’d lost track of Beth until the tiny blonde appears next to the dreadlocked woman to take Judy before giving the other woman a hug.

 

Once the SUVs are off through the gates, Beth and Hershel turn away to head back to the prison, talking quietly while Rick falls in step next to Carl as they head toward the equipment shed where one set of tools was kept.  Instead of grabbing his usual items, Rick grabs of the game bags and announces he’s going to go check the trap lines while it is early and the game is more likely to be untouched and Carl makes his usual request to come.  For once Rick doesn’t even want to turn his son down as Carl looks up with his eyes that so closely resemble Rick’s own; his boy hasn’t hit his growth spurt yet, but is still probably more than two inches taller than he was when Rick had been shot only a week or so after his twelfth birthday, within two weeks of the world going to hell and yet there are few people Rick would trust more in a bad situation.  Still, one of the main points of the farming venture was to keep Carl occupied and away from guns and Rick wouldn’t let his son outside of the fences without one; he’s even started carrying his big Colt again after Hershel had told him the Council had discussed it because they were worried about him, so he reluctantly tells Carl no yet again and asks him to close the fence after Rick walks through and Carl does while giving him what Rick is starting to worry is at least a semi-permanent look that screams “dumbass.”  As he walks into the woods he wonders if he’s ever going to be able to do anything to remove that look from Carl’s face and reluctantly decides it’s only going to be time and age that do it, providing they both live that long.

 

Judith, now…he knew girls were supposedly more attached to their dads than their moms, but his daughter had thoroughly attached to Daryl, probably because he’d been the first one to feed her while Rick was off in the Tombs hunting walkers and grieving Lori and it made sense to Rick that, after Daryl, Judith was most attached to Beth because the sunny blonde had simply taken over the primary care of the baby from the first day.  He and Carl came directly after Daryl or Beth and Rick loved it when he’d go into the main room and his little girl would see him and give him a big smile and wave her arms; hell, he’d seen Carl melt when his little sister would giggle and coo at him as hard as the young teen would probably deny it.  Rick looked forward to the day he could really talk to his little girl and teach her about the world and how to survive and he really looked forward to teaching her those things with Beth by his side, maybe even as his wife.

 

He hadn’t seen her with anyone since that brief sort-of romance with that 28-year-old guy…Zach, Rick remembered the kid’s name with a small snort through his nose.  Beth hadn’t loved Zach, Rick had known it even back when the guy had been alive…nice enough, but had seemed like a total kid in spite of the time he’d spent out on the road with his group and how much he’d tried to help out at the prison.  Rick hadn’t liked him even though he hadn’t loved Beth then like he does now.  As far as he could tell, Beth felt the same way about him…she smiled at him almost every time she saw him and was so sweet when she took Judith or handed her off.  Sure, she was sweet and cheerful with everyone, but Rick thought maybe he saw something more when she was with him.

 

Now that he thought about it, he realized that Carl hadn’t been following Beth around as much anymore and although he still helped her with things and stayed nearby if there was any danger, the slightly dopey, calf-eyed looks he used to give her at times were a thing of the past.  Maybe his son had realized the lay of the land and that Beth was more likely to be his stepmother than his girlfriend.

 

**

 

The group returns with a blaring horn and Carl and Rick run to open the gates and let them in.  They are all alive, but several scraped up and Daryl’s been shot by someone from another group.  Beth’s next to the SUV in a flash, face panicked, handing Judith off to Maggie like a football before she’s under Daryl’s arm, drawing it over her shoulders and helping him in with only a few words, brow furrowed in worry.  They make it inside, Maggie, Rick and Carl following as Daryl gets helped down to the cell Hershel uses as a clinic and the older man hurries in, limping more than usual in his rush and starts throwing around instructions.  Maggie passes Judith to Rick, who is forced to go find a bottle to try and settle the baby’s fussing, but even that doesn’t work…it’s like she knows Daryl’s shot and she keeps up a low-grade fussing no matter what.  Both Greene girls are helping their father patch up Daryl after he confirms that it was a flesh wound, the bullet having gone through and through, fortunately, and the hunter’s stitched, patched, bandaged and settled before supper’s ready that night.

 

Once those close to him have been in and seen Daryl, Beth carries in a bowl of the stew they have for supper, helps him sit up against several pillows and sits on the edge of the bed talking quietly while he slowly eats the meal.  By the end his eyes are drooping and Beth takes the bowl before beckoning Rick in to help her get Daryl into a comfortable sleeping position.

 

As they step out of the cell and glance back at the bowman, Rick looks down at Beth and realizes she looks exhausted and stressed out, so he nudges her gently, “I’ve got Judy tonight; don’t worry about her even if she cries, I’ll take care of her.”

 

Beth shrugs and looks up at him, “I can’t sleep through her crying anyway and sometimes it’s nice to just hold her for a few minutes, but I may take you up on that tonight.”  Her breath catches a little and she lets out part of choked-off sob and it just feels natural for Rick to slip an arm around her tiny waist and pull her in and for her to turn into his chest for a moment to cry.  She doesn’t do it for long, but his shirt’s damp when she stops in probably less than thirty seconds, but he doesn’t care because he loves how she feels leaning against his chest.  As she pulls a clean cloth handkerchief from her back pocket Rick notices that her nails have been repainted at some point and most are still orange, but one nail on each hand is now black, reminding him even more of warning signs, but it is also Beth and thus, adorable.

 

She gives him a little smile as she pulls back, “Thank you, Rick, I needed that.”

 

“Don’t worry about it, this shirt’s had a lot worse on it in the past and probably will again.  Do you need anything?”

 

“No thank you, I’m just going to hang out for a while and make sure he doesn’t get a fever or anything.”

 

“Okay, you know where I am if you need me.”

 

“Thank you, Rick,” she says quietly, beaming at him again before slipping back into the cell and settling on a small pile of blankets and a pillow next to the cot where Daryl’s stretched out.

 

Rick’s taken a couple steps when he hears the hunter’s drowsy voice saying, “Thought you said you didn’t cry anymore.”

 

“Shut up,” Beth says with a little embarrassed giggle, making Rick grin.

 

Maybe a wedding next spring with Judith toddling as a flower girl and Daryl as his best man….


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick figures out a way to spend a little time alone with Beth....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi All,  
> Sorry that it's been so long since the last update and thank you to those who are still with me on this one. One more chapter after this, folks!

After almost four days of relative quiet in which Beth changed the hunter’s bandages, smeared liberally with herbal poultices she and Hershel mixed up and warmed carefully and tended to his needs almost around the clock while the old vet checked on his patient regularly, the redneck was once again at table, fully dressed and feeding Judy while Beth helped with breakfast.  Rick’s settled across from him, talking and when Carol joins them with bowls of hot oatmeal she sits next to Daryl, apparently with the sole purpose of teasing him about staying in bed for so long.

 

After a few moments of Carol pestering the hunter and watching the younger man alternate between squirming uncomfortably at her quips and giving snarky responses, Rick decides to give the hunter a break and asks “So, do you want to work in the garden today?”  Hershel has forbidden Daryl from going on runs until he’s healed for longer and Rick knows well how grating inactivity can be.  He still has a terrible time sleeping or sitting still himself and Daryl has always been worse at it no matter how he’s feeling.

 

“Too soon for that, unless you’re going to pick stuff or pull weeds and even then you can’t carry too much,” the old vet’s voice sounds behind Rick as Hershel comes over and settles next to the former deputy.  “Anything where you’re twisting and pulling on stuff like that can still tear your stitches, so no heavy gardening for now and no fence duty.”

 

“So, what, guard duty from one of the towers?”

 

“That’d be good so long as you stay out of the sun and don’t get heat stroke…if you do decide to go, take lots of water to drink.”

 

“What are you grumbling about now?” Beth asked, settling comfortably next to Daryl on his opposite side and taking Judith, who’d immediately reached for the young woman.  “Ugh, Judy, you’re getting so big, sweet girl!  We’re going to have to find you some new clothes soon!”

 

“Daryl doesn’t like being restricted to guard duty,” Hershel contributed, at which Beth rolled her eyes gently.

 

“Tell Glenn what sizes you need for her” Daryl added.

 

Beth grimaces “I wish I could just go get her clothes myself, it would be so much better than trusting Glenn’s fashion sense.  We may be able to wait until you’re ready to do runs again” she adds to the hunter.  “You don’t get her stuff that makes her look like a very tiny, colorblind bag lady.”

 

“I can take you” Rick blurts in what he firmly believes is a stroke of brilliance.

 

Their small group goes silent except for Beth who gives him a brilliant, relieved smile, “Really?  Even her largest clothes truly are a little small now and I hate for her to be uncomfortable if I can do anything about it.  Besides, if we find a place with baby clothes, maybe we can also find some other things I want.  She’s really old enough now that she needs to be on some infant oatmeal and baby foods and with the garden doing so well now and having some electricity, I’d love to try to get a small blender or food processor to make it easier to get things fine enough for her, or at least something to make a softer mash, though we should still get formula and more bottles, or at least new nipples.”

 

“We can leave right after breakfast if you’d like,” the former deputy says with a grin at the young blonde.

 

“Oh, that would be great, if someone can watch Jude!  I’d love to get back early to wash the clothes if we find them…which reminds me, I could really use some gentle detergent, or at least the stuff to make some myself, and definitely some more cloth diapers and more of those plastic covers for them in a bigger size…Carol, do you have the list and a pencil?”  When the older woman hands them over, Beth starts to write, pushing aside her oatmeal bowl, which is only half-empty.

 

“Hey, eat your breakfast first,” Daryl chides, pushing the bowl back in front of her and breaking whatever tension had gripped the table.

 

“I just wanna’ write a couple things down,” she objects, scribbling.

 

“Beth…” the hunter says, patiently.

 

“Honey, you really should stop that and eat your breakfast, it’ll be good for you,” Hershel adds gently.  “You aren’t going to want it when it’s all cold.”

 

With a sigh, she finishes scribbling her current item, picks up the spoon and scoops up another mouthful, making a face as she looks at the gluey texture.  “I think I waited too long anyway,” she admits, putting the spoon back in the bowl.

 

“Too late now, Sunshine, eat it down,” Daryl instructs.  “Don’t give me those eyes,” he adds hastily “Hershel….”

 

“You want me to get you some more honey for it, sweetheart?  It might help it go down better.”

 

“No, Daddy, don’t…it’s not really the taste right now anyway...I’ll be fine.”

 

“What about a little hot water to loosen it up and make it warmer?” Carol suggests, hopping up at Beth’s grateful look and picking up the cold bowl.  “I’ll be right back.”

 

“She’s so kind” Beth says as the older woman walks away as the blonde pulls the list back toward herself and starts writing again while swaying gently to keep Judith happy.

 

Daryl leans toward Rick and says, “Hey, Michonne and I found this shopping center with a baby place, a kids’ shop and a couple other places that didn’t look too picked over, should only take you about an hour to get there and there some other strip malls not too far away you could try if someone got to the first ones.  You take the good gold station wagon and you should be okay.” Carol returns as the hunter starts to give directions and Rick listens carefully.

 

“That’s so much better, Carol, thank you!” Beth exclaims after trying the warmed dish.

 

“I put together a little pack for you too” Carol replies “just in case, though I’m sure everything’s going to be fine.  It’s on the table near the doors.”

 

“You’re so thoughtful, Carol…thank you!” Beth replies before she finishes the rest of her oatmeal and gathers all their bowls to take to the sink for the women doing the dishes that day before hurrying away to get ready for the run.

 

Rick repeats all the directions back to Daryl carefully because he really does want the run to be successful and for them to be safe on it, then heads off to take care of a few last things, including waking Carl up and letting him know what’s going on and that Carol, Daryl and Hershel are going to be helping watch Judith that day.  By the time he returns to the common room, Beth’s ready and they head out the door with Hershel, Daryl, Carol (carrying Judith), Carl, Maggie and Glenn on their heels to wave them off and beg them to be careful.

 

Even happy and excited as he is at the prospect of getting Beth to himself most of the day and as much as he wants her to be safe, Rick still finds himself feeling resentful when he sees Daryl drawing Beth aside to check that her knife is strapped on securely and give her a handgun in a holster he also makes sure is attached properly at her waist before slipping another knife into one of her boots.  The hunter seems almost too big and rough as he hovers over Beth checking her weapons and talking to her, hand resting on her back after he can do no more and they turn back to talk to Hershel and Maggie, but Rick never worries his friend will hurt the young woman, though he does worry his friend is getting too attached and will be broken-hearted when Beth accepts Rick’s proposal.  It’s only natural, though, since Beth’s pretty much been with Daryl around the clock while he’s been recovering and anyone spending a lot of time around Beth Greene was going to love her, Rick was sure of it.

 

After a few more moments, Beth starts hugging everyone, even Daryl, showing she’s ready to go, so Rick tosses a last warning at Carl for the kid to behave himself and stay in the fences and climbs in the car, feeling relieved when Beth climbs in beside him and they get to take off.  Tyreese is on fence duty and hurries to the gate to let the station wagon out and Rick’s heart soars as he leaves the fences with the beautiful little blonde even as he automatically becomes more alert to danger.

 

Beth turns to wave to Tyreese and the others at the fence and watch the prison until it’s out of sight, but she seems happy enough.  She pulls out the list and goes over it with Rick so that he’ll know the items as well, adding on things periodically.  Nearly all the items are for Judith and the other children as they are the ones who change the most, but Rick notes that Beth still has baby items on there as though she’s planning ahead in case more infants arrive at the prison and wonders if she’s thinking ahead to having a couple of her own.

 

Their babies will be smart _and_ beautiful.

 

o))O((o

 

The run’s been going well.  They’ve seen walkers, many in groups of varying sizes; a small herd of deer bounding away from pursuit in long, graceful leaps; even two wild turkeys so big Rick feels obligated to stop the car to try a couple shots, though he’s shocked when Beth sticks her handgun out the window and kills both the turkeys in two quick head shots.  She pops out of the car and ran for the birds, Rick noting again how long her legs are for her body and how elegantly she can cover the ground before he eases his foot off the brake and back onto the gas to pick her up before anything can get to her.  Everyone would be mad enough if they ever discovered that he let her get out of the car alone.

 

The turkeys go into a large plastic box in the way-back and Beth’s back in the car safely in under a minute so Rick feels he can breathe easily again.  As much as he’d wanted to whisk her away for the day and be alone with her, the absolute last thing he wants is to tell anyone in their extended family that anything happened to Beth, including losing a single hair on her head.  Things are normal after that…more walkers spotted here and there (though thankfully no large herds blocking the road), a few flocks of birds heading south, including ducks and geese, and the leaves on the hardwoods now changed to brilliant colors shifting in the wind against a deep blue sky; all signs of autumn further back than anyone can remember…nature at its best.  Other than the walkers and signs of their passing, such as broken-down, bloodstained cars and camps it could be any other fall and they could be any young couple just driving to look at the leaves, though Rick never lets himself forget their situation or the things they saw all those months on the road between the fall of the farm and them finding the prison.

 

A little over an hour of slightly awkward conversations into the drive and they spot the landmarks and strip mall that Daryl had told them to watch for and grin at each other in triumph, though it doesn’t last too long.  Another group has obviously been through the shopping center since Daryl and Michonne had found it and not only is the glass broken out of the fronts of several shops, but something’s attracted a lot of walkers to the strip mall, so Rick reluctantly drives on, turning at an abandoned fast-food place as they watch for the other stores Daryl had said were nearby.

 

“Rick, look, down that street…there’s a couple consignment stores down that way and one looks like it’s for kids.  Let’s try there!”

 

Their approach is cautious, because Rick trusts nothing and no one out here, but the shops seem untouched.  Rick drives around back and sees they have two ways of getting out, more if he goes over the divider between their parking lot and the next to get away from any problems.  The station wagon’s hidden from the road and Rick can’t see any sign of anyone watching them.  There’s no way in hell he’s letting Beth out of their vehicle if he gets a single sniff of danger.  They get out and muffle the sound of their doors closing as best they can before going to the solid metal back door and test it, finding it locked.  Rick pulls out the lock picks he carries with him from his days as a deputy and has the door unlocked in under a minute, swinging it open with hinges squeaking before ushering Beth in ahead of him.

 

They carefully clear the store, not finding any walkers and agreeing that a consignment shop wasn’t the first place they’d have ever looked for supplies after everything that had happened…most looters had gone for variety, hunting or grocery stores and left many smaller establishments alone.  It also turned out that what looked like three smaller shops from the outside were actually adjoined by large openings and only had glass partitions so that all shops could easily be seen.  The one through which they’d entered was adult clothing for men and women, the middle was clothing for children and babies and the last section was toys for children and babies, as well as practical items such as car seats, cribs and so on.

 

Beth laughs, holding up a giant hat with garish orange and purple flowers on it before placing it on her head and making her accent thicker, “Why, I just can’t understand why nobody raided this store for all these essentials!  Don’t you think this would be handy while fighting walkers?”  She giggles again as the brim flopped over her face and makes Rick smile before pulling off the offending item and placing it back where it had been.

 

Many of the items are higher end and fancier than they’d ever need, but they finally locate a section with more practical clothing and bring in some of the large plastic bins from the car to load up with jeans, coats, sweaters and other items and Rick carries them safely out to the car while Beth goes into the next section for clothing for Judith and the other kids, finding some items that make her coo and squeal with excitement, even though she continues to move quickly.  After those bins are loaded, they take a quick look through the last section, where Beth finds a Pack ‘n Play slightly different from the one they use for Judith and asks Rick to take it to the car as she looks quickly through the other items.  Rick leaves reluctantly and returns to find Beth back in the adult section, the remaining bin she’s packed beside her as she looks longingly at a pretty white sundress with a pale flowered pattern all over it.

 

“You should get it,” Rick says after watching her wistful face for a moment.

 

She gives a soft snort that belies the longing in her eyes, “I don’t even need new jeans right now, what would I ever do with this?”

 

“Whenever you want to, wear it on guard duty or making oatmeal...it’ll be something new for Judy to throw up on,” Rick teases.

 

“Well, I don’t have anything else about which I can say that,” Beth jokes back, acting as though she’s considering the dress just for that reason.

 

When the contemplative look doesn’t leave her face, he grabs the hanger with the dress, lays it on the bin and carries it all to the car, the young blonde trailing him and raising objections to the frivolous object for a moment, though she stops when they step outside and she automatically goes back to being more alert.  Though she doesn’t say anything else after they are back in the car Rick can see from the look on her face that he’s done the right thing, something it occurs to him he’d only managed a handful of times with Lori.

 

They stop and check out a couple drug stores on their way back which had already been pretty picked over and didn’t yield much, but took a hint from Daryl and Maggie, stopping at a day care in a shady suburb on the way back and feel they hit a jackpot, finding a small hand-cranked processor for mashing baby food along with some dishes and tableware made for infants and kids and a couple boxes of starter oatmeal.

 

Overall, the time they spend driving is almost longer than they spend at all their stops and they’re home several hours before dinner, returning to relieved looks from the others and hugs from their family.  Rick feels so good about everything he barely notices Daryl brushing a hand over one of Beth’s forearms in greeting and it slips his mind a second later when he sees Beth showing off her new dress to Maggie and the girls giggling over it for a moment as Hershel, Glenn and Daryl watch them indulgently from a few feet away, feeling a rush of pride again at the satisfaction of making her happy.

 

The car’s unloaded within minutes as they only have about nine full bins and a couple bags of things and Beth carries the bin of things for Judith outside to the laundry area, Daryl and Hershel trailing after her to discuss the run while Rick heads outside the walls to check the traps.  The take isn’t good that day, much of the trapped game had been attacked by walkers that had torn it apart and Rick only managed a couple small rabbits, so though his good mood doesn’t completely dissipate he feels steadier when he gets back inside with the small bit of meat because alone it would barely be enough to feed himself and Carl, much less all the people in the prison.  Sure, they have other people who go out to hunt, but so far nobody else has come close to what Daryl can bring in and Rick hopes it won’t be much longer before the hunter is back out where he belongs.

 

When Rick gets back to the prison, he’s more than pleased to find that Michonne’s returned; she’d taken off after the run when Daryl had gotten hurt and her being away only a week was unusual…she was often gone a month or more when she took off, returning only after she felt she’d exhausted whatever lead she’d gotten on The Governor or if she was injured or got too tired.  Carl was thrilled as per usual; he’d found a kinship with the fiercely independent woman unlike his other friendships and missed her tremendously when she was gone.

 

Rick glances over at the laundry area to see that Beth’s apparently finished the washing and the lines are full of clean baby clothes and cloth diapers and he doesn’t see the blonde or Daryl or Hershel.  He glances back at Michonne, “Where’s Carl?  I would have thought he’d be trailing you around.”

 

“Found a house where one of the kids had comic book collection that took up three file boxes, plus there was a car still in the garage that worked, so I drove them back along with a few other things you all will need anyway, so you’ll be lucky if you see him for a couple weeks other than when you make him work.”  She glances up at him, “Besides, it didn’t take me long to find there wasn’t anything to that lead from that guy they brought in last week; he wasn’t with that group…I watched them for a few days.”

 

“If anyone’s going to find him you will” Rick encouraged her.  “You going to stick around for a few days?”

 

“Yeah, I may stick around for a while.  I found myself some M&Ms that aren’t too stale, even enough to share a few, and some other candy so that I don’t have to share too much, so until I get another lead I may hang around here.  Besides, with that redneck just staying in bed all day you need someone around to pick up the slack.”  The last part’s said a little louder than the rest, almost as though she’s hoping Daryl will hear her teasing.

 

“Oh, he’s not out here anymore,” Rick chuckles.  “You’re just wasting your breath trying to goad him like that.”  
  
“Really?  What a shame” Michonne replies with a grin, glancing up at one of the towers they never really use for guard duty.  It used to overlook one side of the prison and part of the back, but now the back view was blocked by rubble and the one on the other side was better; besides, they could easily patrol along the fence from the ground.  Because of the way the creek that ran in front of the prison widened and deepened on that side it made it the least likely route for attack and it was also an unlikely direction for spies to watch, unless they wanted to see the foot patrols.

 

The only people who ever really used that old tower any more were Glenn and Maggie and that was hardly to guard anything other than maybe their privacy and Daryl would hardly need it for _that._

 

Michonne pats him on the arm and he looks away from the tower and back at her as they continue walking and talking together.

 

 

o))O((o


End file.
